APRIL FEWLS HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Right, now that we've got that 'out' of the 'way', lemmie tell you about the gripping drama of Offy-Ds month of march.
Err...
Right, now that we've got that 'out' of the 'way', lemmie tell you about the gripping drama of the development of Godless Tactics! Yeah boi! Getting to the point now where I'm starting to put actual content into the game, as in items, weapons, things to find, missions to do, cutscenes to watch (and by watch I mean read), and of course, more and more places to fight over.
The world map is actually gigantic, and I've been gradually changing the way the game works in order to allow the player to potentially explore more of it. Since I still haven't actually tested the game beyond the small starting area, I don't really know if it will suffer from open-world disease in the fashion of something like No Man's Sky - the area to explore is giant, but you don't need to explore it, and ultimately there is nothing much there if you do. I would post a pic but the map is currently undergoing graphical upgrades, so I'll wait until they are totally done to reveal the new look! Ooooo exciting! Here's another image instead...
Here, I'll show you instead the new look for battles maps. I don't have a picture of what it used to look like because I can't plan my life like that. So just look at it and think 'amazing!' and move on, okay?
That is part of a 'Marsh' type battle map, and is actually designed based off a real marshy place in the New Forest (or N'fress as the kids in the 2950s setting call it). This map will probably be a nightmare to fight on due to low mobility, but hey, most of the maps are probably terrible to play since they are all untested! I think I need to have less open space on pretty much all of them, since for a turn based tactics game like this, the more junk there is to restrict options, the more creative and tactical you have to be about things. Just another thing to sort out in alpha, or whatever. Special thanks to the best artist of all time for making my tiles: http://vcarbin.wixsite.com/creations
It's all coming together now. Still got like 30% of the world map to make which will take a while, but it's playable without those parts, and we all know releasing games AFTER finishing them is out of fashion now, so I think I'm a bit of testing away from being able to release on early access. I won't, because I'm not a monster. Plus don't want to spoil the game before it is perfect. "A DELAYED GAME IS EVENTUALLY GOOD, A RUSHED GAME IS BAD FOREVER" - MAGIC VIDEO GAME MAN.
Is there any actual news from the channel? I suppose I should chronicle that Honourable Gentlemen is doing well, which is great! I think not taking it too seriously helps it be less of a chore to make, and probably makes it more fun to watch. Only issue is that the campaign is legitimately very easy, so I'm finding myself trying to limit myself in the hope of forcing something interesting gameplay-wise to happen. The same thing is true now of Barbarian Masters, since I am in the 'you will definitely win' end game of any total war that makes the game pointless to play but gives no closure until you actually slog through it.
The comments are arising once again about how I should fake some losses to increase the tension, but people will be even madder at that, based on my brief dabbling with the idea in Fields of Mars. And losing makes the game last longer, and by the gods do I want that campaign to end. Will be forcing a challenging ending by trying to take all of a certain part of the map using only 2 armies. If it proves to be impossible, that can become part of the narrative and I'll just end things with a 'they all died' sort of thing. Probably.
It's a 'you can't please everyone' situation since optimal gameplay is actually pretty boring to watch, but not-optimal gameplay is cringey or frustrating to watch. So it's actually a 'you can't please anyone' situation. Doesn't even please me since I have to constantly worry about such things while playing (aka sitting through loading screens), and hope that I actually get footage that can be made into something usable. You know this reminds me of another of the great quotes of our age: "THE OTHER DAY I WROTE A BLOG POST ABOUT WHY I HATE VIDEO GAMES..." - ANGERY VIDEO GAME LADY.
Like I'm meant to be filming Shogun 2 right now. But no, just no, it's a sunday, and I want to relax. Leave me alone video games! Can't you see I've got video games to play?! I'm playing MGS3 Snaker Eater, and Just Cause 3 at the moment. MGS is a timeless classic, and Just Cause 3 is Just Cause 2 but you can't sprint anymore. Oh, and you have to complete these annoying minigames to unlock character upgrades. And most of the gameplay is 'press E to complete the objective now'. Why are all games so terrible? Couldn't it just have been good? I think really the way to go is the MGS way: have one crazy guy have complete creative control over development and just add whatever random mechanics he likes. Once you find a good crazy guy, that's all you need to succeed! I THREW A GRENADE AT A POISON DART FROG BY ACCIDENT AFTER BLOWING UP THE ENEMY SUPPLY FOOD STASH AND A HUNGRY ENEMY DECIDED TO EAT THE CARCASS AND THEN DIED FROM THE POISON. Now there's a goddamned mechanic.
What is this blog even about? Is it just things that I happen to be thinking about on the given morning that I write it? Yes! Who knows this post would have been like if I wrote is yesterday, or, unthinkably, a week ago? Probably would have been much better. ... ... ... So... who else is watching that anime about the girls trying to go to Antartica? ALL OF YOU?!
Oh yeah, an actual piece of news is that i have exceeded the $500 goal on my patreon! I remember setting that all those years ago and thinking "that, plus youtube money, should be enough, right?". It would have been, if youtube money didn't disappear over those years. But it actually pretty much is enough to pay rent, and when combined with my gig as narrator at Kings and Generals I have actually broken even for the last couple of months. Break even 2018 is happening people! I'M GOING TO MAKE A NON-NEGATIVE AMOUNT OF MONEY AT MY JOB! Truly this is a breakthrough for wealth inequality in our modern society. One day I'll be able to buy a video game that's better than Just Cause 3 (80% off in sale of course).
And that's the end. Did I tell you that I killed The End in MGS3 with the SVD when you see him in his wheelchair at those docks for a couple of seconds? It actually allows you to skip the harder boss encounter with him later in the game! Mechanics! MECHANICS!
Snake: "Mechanics?"
